Application of a D-Optimal Mixture Design for the Development and Optimization of a Pasta Enriched With Pumpkin...

Fortification of wheat-based products with high-nutritional-value ingredients is becoming of great interest as a strategy for producing high-quality sustainable food products. Therefore, pumpkin products such as pulp (PPU), peel (PPE), and seed (PS) were blended into wheat pasta at different proportions and combinations using D-optimal mixture design (DMD), resulting in 12 mixtures between PPU, PPE, and PS flours. Fifteen responses were analyzed and predicted models with high accuracy (p < 0.02) and a satisfactory coefficient of determination (R² > 0.92). The optimum composition was 85% semolina, 11.85% PPU, 0% PPE, and 3.15% PS, achieving a desirability of 86.04%. It corresponded with the following properties: moisture of 9.66%, ash of 1.49%, protein of 11.89%, fat of 1.63%, carbohydrates of 75.06%, total phenolics of 107.22 mg/100 g dry weight (DW), total flavonoids of 19.27 mg/100 g DW, carotenoids of 10.17 mg/100 g dry powder (DP), and antioxidant activity of 15.34%. The cooking loss, optimal cooking time, and water absorption capacity reached values of 5.04%, 8.5 min, and 211.86%, respectively. The color parameters L*, a*, and b* values were 84.38, 2.76, and 27.3, respectively. The sensory analysis scores of the DMD mixtures disclosed that the mixture with 12% PPU and 3% PS was the most appreciated, and these proportions were quite similar to the optimized formula, which could be a major asset in combining nutritional and sensory profiles. This new formulation advocated that pasta fortified with pumpkin products could confer improved nutritional, cooking, and sensorial profiles. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: For the production of products with appealing consumer attributes, adding additives to pasta formulas is a suitable replacement. The amount of ingredients added can affect the pasta's quality and produce properties that could impact the final result. It is possible to identify the ingredients that support pasta quality using the D-optimal combination design, which provides pertinent information for the food sectors. The findings defined the proportions of pumpkin products, including pulp, peel, and seed, in pasta. They also disclosed their remarkable potential in enhancing the quality parameters, nutritional value, and cooking profile of pasta while maintaining a satisfactory sensorial profile, thereby promoting the industrial development of high-value alimentary paste.